In preparation for the next world Synod of Bishops, leaders of the synod’s general secretariat held online meetings to discuss the process with the presidents and general secretaries of national and regional bishops’ conferences. Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary of the synod, and the office’s two undersecretaries, Xaviere Missionary Sister Nathalie Becquart and Bishop Luis Marín Read more
A former member of Pope Francis’ commission on clergy sexual abuse said the recent revision of the criminal section of the Catholic Church’s canon law do not go far enough to protect children and vulnerable adults from possible predators. Marie Collins pointed out that the new provisions do not mandate that a priest found guilty Read more
Irish Catholic bishops have chosen a woman to head preparations for a national synod, due to be held in the next five years. Nicola Brady is currently General Secretary of the Irish Council of Churches, and Joint Secretary of the Irish Inter-Church Meeting. She has been noted for facilitating relationship-building between the Christian churches in Read more
Pope Francis has not commented about America’s Catholic bishops’ vote to deny US President Joe Biden Holy Communion because of Biden’s political support for abortion. The US bishops are drafting new guidance on the abortion-communion issue, which they expect to release in November. Their decision to vote about this matter flouts a letter from the Read more
Hungary’s parliament has passed a sex crimes law that includes elements aiming to protect children, barring providing pornography and content that promotes gender reassignment and homosexuality to anyone under age 18. Backers of the law emphasized the need to protect children and to support parents, though the move has drawn criticism from the Hungarian opposition Read more
Anglican women are more likely to suffer domestic violence than women in the broader community, a national report commissioned by the Anglican Church of Australia has found. While 15 per cent of Australians surveyed for the report said that they had experienced intimate-partner violence, the figure among Anglicans was 22 percent. Questioned about specific examples Read more
Father Stan Mader, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Waconia, Minnesota, is using information gathered from a survey offered by the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis last year as he seeks to share the Gospel more effectively with parishioners. So are parish leaders in St. Paul, New Hope and across the archdiocese as they Read more
Wearing a hard hat and boots, the archbishop of Paris offered Mass in a nearly empty Notre-Dame Cathedral this week as restoration of the fire-damaged interior of the Gothic cathedral kicks off. Archbishop Michel Aupetit used the occasion of the feast of the dedication of Notre-Dame de Paris to reflect on the spiritual metaphor of Read more
Teachers from schools across Ireland are concerned that Catholic schoolchildren are being bullied for practicing their religion as they appear ‘old fashioned’ or ‘out of the mainstream culture’. Most schools in Ireland are Catholic schools, and close to 80% of the population describe their religion as Catholic according to the 2016 Census. Yet, a growing number Read more
In four years participants in a Caritas campaign have logged about 600,000km in symbolic solidarity walks with migrants and refugees. The global “Share the Journey” campaign aims to build “bridges of hope between islands separated by fear,” says Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, president of Caritas Internationalis. Although the campaign has formally ended, its message continues. Read more